


We, the Raijinshuu

by Anxious_Procrastinating



Category: Fairy Tail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 04:44:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7494258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anxious_Procrastinating/pseuds/Anxious_Procrastinating
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bit of introspection about this beautiful team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We, the Raijinshuu

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi everyone! :) This is a sort of spin-off to another story of mine, What's important to me (You don't necessarily have to read it to understand this). Since that one was focused on Laxus's thoughts and feelings, this one should have been focused on the Raijinshuu's feelings and thoughts, in fact it was supposed to be called "You're important to us". Instead I ended up putting him in because he's my precious baby and you know how it ends up when it's like this...this title isn't much better, but, as I already said in another author's note, I've never been good at naming things...I hope you enjoy it!:)
> 
> (Posted on FF. net on 14/03/2016)

"How's Natsu doing?" Fairy tail's resident rune mage, Freed Justine, asked. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, his long green hair was tied up in a pony tail, with his lightning-shaped locks let loose. His head and arms were wrapped up in bandages, his injuries were pretty bad, but not enough to keep him in bed and from being worried about the others. In this case, his concern was for Natsu. It hadn't always been like this though. Freed had been a member of Fairy tail for a long time, but just recently he had truly opened up to all the guild members, developing further affection for them.

He had always been a shy person, not very talkative, calm, really silent. He went unnoticed most of the times. Only who got to know him well, knew how much of a wonderful person he truly was. Intelligent, loyal, polite, kind, elegant. These were just some of the qualities he possessed, but instead of showing them he was more the type to hide. Insecurity was one of the main traits of his personality, that was probably why he had had a true friendship just with three people: Bickslow, Evergreen and, of course, Laxus.

Bickslow was the kind of guy one would easily define as a 'prick'. He was noisy. And nosy. But mostly noisy. He was never quiet, neither he nor his babies. But he was so much fun to be with, a carefree person: he always had a joke to cheer you up when you were feeling down and he was such a softy...No one truly knew him other than the members of the Raijinshuu though. The other guys just thought that he was a weirdo, with that tongue always waggling out of his mouth and his creepy powers. His magic had always been an obstacle to him making friends with other people. It was a dark magic. When he was younger it had been hard to accept for the people around him, who got pretty scared seeing him talking alone like a madman or objects which should nomally be inanimated floating around him, talking and sending blasts of green energy. Plus there were his Figure Eyes. They were hard to control, especially when he got nervous. And risking to rip someone's soul from their bodies just looking at them in the eye didn't really help to develop a relationship. Despite its effects he never stopped using his magic, he considered it a gift. Thanks to it he had never been alone, his souls always kept him company. And only the people able to accept the whole package of him would be deemed worthy of being his friends, the others could just screw up for all he cared. He was really straightforward, too.

Evergreen was the youngest of the group. That didn't mean she would let herself get pushed around. She had put up these walls of arrogance around her and only who could see through them would gain her trust and be allowed to know the true her. She was a great admirer of beauty, art, intelligent, skilled. Her magic, like in Bickslow's case, had fueled her insecurity: she was scared to petrify people. The only ones that wouldn't treat her like a monster were Laxus, Freed and Bickslow, that's how they'd become her best friends. It wasn't like the other members of Fairy Tail had called her names or offended her, but they were clearly afraid of her. They, instead, even liked her magic. Besides, the three boys were the only ones that didn't give up on getting closer to her despite her harsh behavior.

Laxus had always been a lonely boy. He didn't seek he others' company, he was a solitary guy, no wonder he always wore his Sound Pod to avoid other people's contact. But at the same time he easily got bored and wished to have true friends. His personality wasn't a really easy one to get along with though, and being the oldest of all the brats in Fairy Tail, he had found no one with mature enough to make good friends with. They were just useful to be made fun of. Especially Natsu. With the Raijinshuu things were different. Freed might have been younger than him, but he was so damn intelligent. And fuck if his magic wasn't cool. Forcing people to obey your rules? No shit. An interesting guy to say the least. Bickslow was almost as old as him. He had had a tough life but had had the capability to let everything slide and live as if nothing had happened, he deserved his respect. Plus he had almost the same power as Freed's. Way to gain awesomeness. Ever looked so similar to him, wishing to have friends but not being able to. Her personality, the walls she'd put up around her. He couldn't avoid getting curious about her. And her Stone Eyes? He'd considered them cool from the very beginning, even if she herself despised them.

What convinced him about them though, was that, for the first time in his life, someone acknowledged him as Laxus Dreyar, not as Makarov Dreyar's grandson. It was a matter of great importance to him.

So they formed their little group and there was no one else in Fairy Tail that had such a beautiful friendship with them. They didn't hold any grudge against the others, really, it was just that there hadn't been the right chemistry. Or, more probably, because they hadn't shared so many experiences.

The element that had brought the members of the Raijinshuu so close, or better said, the person, was Laxus.

To Freed, Laxus was a role model, someone to follow and to learn from. He admired his strength, both physical and mental. To Bickslow, Laxus was a cool guy, he might look unkind, maybe even scary at first sight, with that scarred face and the permanent scowl, but his soul was pure. And he liked having to dig to discover what shy people truly were like. To Ever, Laxus was a handsome boy, a member of Fairy Tail, and she loved fairies! Ok, she was in love with him. He was the only one who could activate her fangirl-mode, which, too, was a matter of great importance. But the most beautiful thing he'd done for her was teaching her how to appreciate her own powers. She would eternally be grateful to him for that.

So, they loved him for what he was, but they would never forget that thanks to him their lives had radically changed, he had given them a little family, a home and a job to be able to economically sustain themselves. Basically the possibility to start all over again with their lives. For that, they had no problems putting them on the line for him. That was the reason why this team of bodyguards had been founded. Not that Laxus needed anyone to protect him, he was so strong, but they wanted to show him what they were willing to do for him, they would be useful. Laxus didn't want them to be his subordinates, nor that they risked their lives for him, but he let them be. Until a true danger showed up there would be no problem. He had always shown to care deeply for them. It wasn't a common thing for him, it didn't happen everyday, but it was that what made it his displays even more special. In their teenage years they were small gestures any older brother would do for his younger siblings, like defending them from bullies, giving them the means to fend for themselves, help them through their hardships, being occasionally overly protective of Evergreen when she dated some guy...these little things showed how fond of them he had become and what made them love him even more.

Once they had grown up Laxus's ways to show them how much he cared got always more dangerous, like that time he had risked to die for them in the battle against Tartaros. That demon, Tempesta, they had tried to defeat him, but to no avail. They would have been dead if Laxus hadn't intervened. Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen admired how their idol had made such a monster look so insignificant, but then...the toxic magical barrier particles happened. The first one to fall was the old Yajima-san, then Evergreen, then Bickslow. Freed was more resistant than them and was able to stay up. He saw Laxus getting furious, he didn't accept what was going on. He was exteremely mad too, his friends were hurt, Laxus was risking his life for them when it should have been the opposite. But being the rational type, Freed didn't let those feelings control him, his priority was to save what could still be saved, so, keeping his cool, he told Laxus not to breathe. Laxus obviously did the contrary of what he was told and tried to get rid of that poisonous mist by sucking it in.

_"Dragon Slayers' lungs...are unique...I'm going to inhale...all of it…"_

Needless to say, Freed was scared to death. He perfectly knew that that shit was noxious, he had seen the effects on his friends, he could feel them on himself...Laxus was breathing a massive amount of that thing, he would die!

 _"Stop...it...don't!"_ he whispered.

_"Take them all home. That's a direct order"_

He had smiled, he wanted to be reassuring. Freed could see how he suffered though, the labored breathing, his right eye half closed, his veins in relief on his skin because of the huge effort, the dark circles around his eyes, the sweat and the blood dripping from his nose and his mouth, obviously coming from his lungs, windpipe, larynx and pharynx. Then he collapsed on the ground.

_"LAXUUUUSSS!"_

Freed's heart thumped in his chest, he had to save everyone and make it so that Laxus's sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. Why was he saying sacrifice?! Laxus wouldn't die, he was the strongest mage alive, he would live. He had to. If he died...tears gathered in the rune mage's eyes, but he blinked them away with the bad thoughts and did what had to be done. There would be time to drown in despair later.

The road to the guild had never been so long, nor had it ever been so hard to walk. He was carrying Yajima-san and Ever each in one of his arms, Laxus on his right shoulder and Bickslow on the left one. In the end he arrived, he got in and everyone looked at him and the others in horror. He collapsed on the ground in the midst of the guild hall, with tears of fear in his eyes. He could let go now. Wendy immediately started taking care of them, then Porlyusica arrived and finished the job. Everyone was unconscious but the rune mage.

He talked to Makarov, he wanted everyone to know how much Laxus had changed, how much he strove everyday to be worthy of being accepted again.

 _"Laxus...saved everyone...in that village...if...Laxus hadn't shown up..we...everyone...in that...village would be…."_. Each word was a stab of pain, but he was determined to speak.

Makarov interrupted him: _"I know. You did well bringing everyone back here…"_

_"They owe...everything to Laxus…" he continued. "Did everyone...in the village...make it'?"_

_"Of course…"_

It was a lie, but the old man would say anything to make one of his children feel better.

_"Good...that's really...good"_

With the knowledge that everyone would make it, Freed was finally able to fall asleep too.

The first one who woke up a couple of days after the war was Bickslow. He was told to be quiet, but being as he is, he obviously was noisy enough to wake his teammates and Yajima-san up. The only one who was still unconscious after a whole week was Laxus. The three bodyguards were genuinely scared for their friend's state, everyday they stayed on his bedside, keeping alert to his every movement or change, even the smallest one. They didn't want to lose him, he was too important. Then he woke up and the first thing he did was hugging the shit out of them, telling them that he was pathetic and that he couldn't go on like that risking not to be able to protect what was important to him. They knew that the whole guild was important to him, but that in that particular case he was referring to them and it made their hearts swell with joy. But they all agreed on something:

"You're not pathetic!"

"I am. You could have died"

"But we're alive!" exclaimed Evergreen.

"That's not the point"

"Man, things are fine now, so don't be so harsh on yourself, huh?" Bickslow said laying a hand on his shoulder.

He looked at them, one by one, with such a pained expression that their hearts sank in despair.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled.

"Sorry for what?" Freed asked. "You don't need to apologize for anything"

"I do instead. I'm sorry for putting your lives in danger, for not being able to protect you and for how I treated you guys after my father got expelled"

Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow had always loved him so much that they kept sticking to Laxus even in his 'rebellious teen' stage, which had started after the 'incident' with Ivan. That was a hard period for the lightning Dragon Slayer, Ivan was an important part of Laxus's life, he was his father, that was obvious. Makarov, too, was one of the most important people in the boy's life, he trusted him. When his father was excommunicated his world got shattered: if since then he had had the possibility to illude himself that Ivan was a good man, now he couldn't anymore. Besides, he got to know a new side to Makarov's personality, the Master. Makarov had always acted as a father, none of the members of the guild had ever seen the authoritary Master. Laxus honestly couldn't imagine that Makarov would expel his son, favoring the guild over his blood. Ivan was his son, his family. Makarov always spoke about how much a family was important, how beautiful it was to have your family around you. And now what? That sounded hypocrite. Plus, he was depriving him of his father. He thought he loved him. Madness or anger couldn't even begin to describe what he felt.

Needless to say, in that phase he changed a lot. Irretrievably. He didn't feel like listening to his grandfather anymore, he had simply lost his trust. The Raijinshuu, lucklily, was there for him, but it didn't feel enough. He appreciated their efforts, he truly did, but that emptiness had led him to unconsciously mistreat them. Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow were scared for what was happening to Laxus, they understood that it was hard for him to lose trust in the only two relatives he had left. They decided to stick close, no matter how much of a jerk he became, he was suffering big time and deserved their sustain.

After that evenement a hierarchy that had never existed before among them had started to form. That was the first step of the road that had led them to the Fighting Festival.

With that Laxus felt that he had hit rock bottom. That madness had brought him to go against his own guild, against his grandfather, against his best friends. During his exile he had had the chance to think about it and regret everything. But he had never had the courage to bring that topic up with anyone, he preferred to avoid certain things. He felt too uncomfortable every day just thinking about it, let alone speaking with anyone of it. That day it was different though.

"Laxus, that's not necessary"

He smiled softly at their antics.

"Guys, I know you love me, but you don't have to justify me all the time. I'm aware of the fact that I'm not perfect and you are too. I just want to apologize about how I behaved, I was a bastard and you definitely didn't deserve it. So, thank you for putting up with me"

"LAXUSSS!" all three screamed and hugged him again. Laxus's apologies meant really a lot to them. As they hugged him he felt so good. Having them close always made him feel better.

The day after they were told that Fairy Tail had been disbanded. To all of them it was a hard thing to accept, their home didn't exist anymore, their family was gone. Laxus was destroyed too, but he kept his bad mood at bay, trying to cheer his friends up (not that he'd ever been good at it), pretending that everything was ok. His bodyguards knew how bad he felt, but saw him struggling to get over the thing, for them too, so they tried to act as normal as possible. To move on he'd decided to join Blue Pegasus, Master Bob was a good friend of his grandfather's, Laxus was sure he would accept them. They needed a job after all. It got hard to keep up a 'nothing's-wrong' attitude though, when a few towns away from the new guild he got a burning and painful sensation in his chest, blurred vision, spinning head and difficulty in breathing. It was just like when he'd just inhaled the particles. He wanted to hide it, but passing out didn't really help things.

He had been told by the doctors in the hospital that his body hadn't neither reabsorbed nor eliminated the magical barrier particles, but he hadn't given it much thought, he felt better in that moment, so he hadn't told anyone about it. He couldn't certainly expect to have such a crisis. When he reopened his eyes he saw a white, dimly lit ceiling. It was night. He took a deep breath and smelled medicines.

_"A hospital. Fuck"_

He slowly turned his head around, which took an enormous amount of strength for him, and saw Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow and his babies around him. Only then his ears registered the sound of Bickslow loudly snoring in an armchair next to the window on the right of his bed. Ever had fallen asleep still sitting in her chair, but her head, with her arms tucked under it, was resting on his bed. Freed, too, was in a chair, still sitting straight, but with his head leaning on his left shoulder. His brows were furrowed, he almost seemed focused on something. His breath was too shallow for a person who was in deep sleep and Laxus could see the tension in the muscles of his neck. He was trying to fight his weariness, but to no avail.

Laxus turned to face again the ceiling and sighed. He felt distress, annoyance. That fucking body of his had always betrayed him, from when he was a child to that moment. He suddenly felt another pang in his chest and started heaving, he clutched the sheets and tried to take deep and regular breaths. He vaguely heard the machine which monitored his heartbeat emitting slower beeps. He wouldn't scream, he wouldn't call for help. His survival had been a miracle, maybe it wasn't meant to last long. An image of himself dead flashed in his mind. Maybe his time was up. If he was to die, he didn't want his friends to see it, he would be quiet, let them sleep as if nothing was happening. Eventually he overcame the crisis, he still felt weak but better than before. Exhausted, he fell back asleep. The following day he was asked many questions about what had happened by his Raijinshuu:

"You said that you were fine!" Ever started.

"The doctors told us that your body is still full of particles!" without even letting him come up with an answer, Freed continued.

"Why would you lie to us? We're your friends!" Bickslow wouldn't wait either.

"Yeah, why? Why?" chorused the babies.

"I _was_ fine and I currently am, I didn't lie"

"You were _writhing_ in pain yesterday and now you're in a hospital bed. I don't think you were being so honest"

"I just omitted this little detail about my body still being full of particles, no one had idea this would happen, neither me nor the doctors. Since I had recovered and, I'll repeat it, I was fine, I didn't think that there would be repercussions"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't think it was necessary, I didn't want to scare you for no reason"

"You're always so considerate, Laxus" Freed said in adoration. "But we don't want you to worry about us"

As if that could be possible.

Since there was nothing that the doctors could do for him, Laxus was dismissed later in the day and the four friends resumed their trip, this time with extra care to Laxus's wellbeing, in spite of his protests. Another crisis came the day after, this time Laxus didn't even try to fight it or pretend to be fine, less struggle would help him overcome it faster. In fact he sat, instinctively bringing a hand over his heart and, like he did two nights earlier, he tried to take regular and deep breaths. Ever, Bickslow and Freed watched him in horror, not knowing what to do, so powerless, helpless, and it felt awful.

A year later the situation wasn't much better, Laxus still had at least one episode per day, but he had never once complained. He was now determined to use his life to do something good for those who had always sticked close to him. The Raijinshuu was used to keep an eye on him and one of them would always be with him, just in case he needed help. Despite his condition Laxus lived as if nothing was going on and constantly trained to become stronger and avoid other failures. When Gajeel and the others had come to Blue Pegasus to tell them that Fairy Tail was being restored, their hearts swelled with joy. During the whole year Freed, Ever and Bickslow had trained too, they were ready to defend Fairy Tail from all the threats it would have to face. The enemy was Zeref this time, but they would fight and win for the sake of the guild, of their family. They were ordered to stay in the Kardia Cathedral. From there Freed had to shield everyone with his runes, Evergreen and Bickslow had to take care of any eventual "inconvenient". Quite obviously an enemy showed up. Unluckily they got a bad surprise and ended up in the infirmary.

As soon as he regained consciousness, Freed asked for information about what was going on. He was told that Natsu wasn't doing well, so he went and checked on him finding Lucy. He thought they would make a good couple some day, when the Dragon Slayer got a little less dense.

The stellar mage answered his question: "He...still hasn't opened his eyes" then she asked: "How are Bickslow and Ever holding up?"

"They're strong, they'll pull through"

"That's a relief"

She was so kind.

Then, a thought hit him: "By the way, where did Laxus head off to?"

"He headed south with Erza and company to join the battle to liberate Hargeon"

"Gray and Wendy are with them, too!" Happy chimed in.

"I see...I pray he doesn't overexert himself…"

After what it had been put through that was the last thing his body needed. Laxus was strong, but the disease was there and it was strong too. Going out there was dangerous, but Freed knew that no one could prevent him from being so reckless.

"Knowing him, I doubt your prayers will be answered"

Maybe she wasn't so kind.

"Ah..indeed, I suppose you're right"

He probably must have given her his most nervous look, because she watched him confused, but he pretended not to notice. He wouldn't give away Laxus's secret. He said goodbye to Lucy and went back to Ever and Bickslow. He sat down and thought about the last year, how much he'd struggled to find a solution to Laxus's illness through medicine or even through his runes. He didn't want his idol to suffer, was terrible to watch him fight against the pain everyday and not being able to do a single thing. In the end all the sleepless nights were rewarded: he found the perfect solution that would cure him. Laxus just had to be clever enough to build up the right conditions, but Freed had no doubts that he would be able to do it. He would never lose his faith in him.

As always, Laxus didn't disappoint him. He fought against Wahl, the guy who had caused them to be in the infirmary. Freed was more than scared, he perfectly knew that he was the worst opponent Laxus could ever fight against since he was immune to lightning. But at the same time he couldn't be more perfect for the plan he'd set to give Laxus his health back.

Laxus had to fight that bastard. He had to avenge his best friends. No one could hurt them and get away with it. He had to suffer. The battle wasn't easy, considering that he'd had his usual "little" inconvenient. But he had to protect the guild at all costs. He still had to make uo for his sins, become again worthy of being part of that big, beautiful family.

The blonde mage was extremely satisfied that he'd managed to wreck his enemy's brains, hurt him and, as icing on the cake, make him cure him. Ah, sweet revenge.

Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow listened proudly and cheered as Warren reported their idol's victory. He was finally safe now.


End file.
